Top 100 Oilers: Jason Smith (20)

Jason Smith was tough as nails and mean as hell and he had the pain threshold of a cadaver. Smith had the biggest heart and the ugliest feet I have ever seen in a National Hockey League dressing room, and if there was a record kept for the number of ice bags a player has had strapped to broken, torn and bruised body parts over the course of a career, Smith would surely hold it.

Smith was a combination of Dirty Harry and Anton Chigurh with a bit of Arnold Schwarzenegger thrown in. More than anything, Smith, the longest-serving captain in the history of the Edmonton Oilers with 542 regular season games and 45 more in the playoffs on his resume, was a leader of men who was willing to do anything to win without making a big look-at-me fuss. If that meant punching somebody’s teeth down their throat or chasing down opponents while hobbling on a busted foot or a shot-up knee, the man teammates called Gator was up for it.

NOTABLE

Stolen from the Toronto Maple Leafs for draft picks – a second-rounder and a fourth-rounder in the 2000 Entry Draft – at the 1999 trade deadline, Smith soon became a fixture on Edmonton’s blue line and a fan favorite for his no-holds-barred style. Smith was an absolutely hellacious hitter who slapped a trademark on the hockey version of a straight-arm hit that would leave opponents blowing snot bubbles. You can see some of that here in a tribute video the Oilers put together to mark Smith’s return to Edmonton with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Smith’s already considerable influence in the dressing room and on the ice only grew when he assumed the team captaincy from Doug Weight. The thing about Smith was he cared more about winning and about his teammates than he did about his own well-being. He didn’t bang bodies or bolt through the gate moments after taking a needle to kill pain or numb an injury to prove how tough he was, he did it because that’s what it took, that’s the price he was willing to pay. Smith did everything to deflect attention, not attract it.

On more mornings than I can count, I’d wait until the dressing room cleared out just to spend a few minutes chatting with Smith in his corner stall. Sometimes for an interview, other times just to shoot the breeze. Every damn time, he’d have an ice bag strapped to something or a foot soaking in a bucket of ice. With Smith, that was as natural as watching a player pull on his shoes. He always talked about “the guys.” When you wanted the pulse of the team, you went to Smith. He didn’t like talking about himself.

THE STORY

Behind the scenes and away from prying eyes, Smith treated every single member of the organization, no matter where they stood in the pecking order, like family. He was as respected as much for the man he was as the player and leader he was. There is no greater praise than that. Smith and his wife, Wendy, worked tirelessly for several charitable initiatives around the city. Away from the fray, you had no idea Smith was bad-ass on the ice, a stone-cold killer.

Away from the rink, Smith loved to play golf. He was my go-to guy during the off-seasons to find out what was going on. Almost every time I called him, his was riding in a golf cart between holes, getting ready to tee-off or standing over a putt. “Just a second,” he’d say, putting down the phone. “OK, I’m back. What’s up?” Smith is also a car guy. He usually rolled in a Hummer, which gave him no absolutely chance when we’d see who could make it back to city limits from the charter terminal after a late-night landing. That changed when Wendy bought him a Corvette for his birthday.

For as much time as I’ve spent around the team, I don’t know where Smith rates among all-time Oiler captains – no outsider knows everything because we aren’t behind those closed doors – and it doesn’t really matter. What I do know is Smith gave his team everything he had, and then some, every time he came through the gate without any expectation or desire of gaining the spotlight because of it. There was no stopping Gator. Respect.

This series will look at the top 100 Edmonton Oilers from the NHL era 1979-80 to 2014-15, starting with 100 and working up.

The information here matches Hockey DB, but there is just one thing… he shot RIGHT. Great player, and a favourite for sure. All the best, Jason, and thanks for giving everything you had for our team and our city!!

I loved Jason Smith as an Oiler. I’d love to see a lot more articles that focus on the positives of what players do, instead of ten thousand more articles talking about how Eberle isn’t tough in the corners. Nowadays, it would be “Jason Smith provides no offense, time for him to go”.

If I am not mistaken, somebody correct me if I am wrong, but there was a game where Smith took a puck or a stick to the mouth (I swear it was against one of those Dallas playoff series but I could be wrong) and the staff ended up stitching him up on the bench and he didn’t miss his shift. He came back with missing teeth, his mouth a mess, and yet he was still smiling afterwards. His mouth resembled that of an alligator and that was where the nickname was born.

100% true. I watched the game on TV. The camera showed as they stitched him on the bench. He had one eye on the play the entire time. Then he shouted to the trainer to finish up and almost literally, the last stitch went in and he jumped on the ice. It was the moment that solidified Smith as my favourite Oiler second only to 99.

Was in the dressing room after a practice once and saw Gator with a bruise on his elbow the size of a grapefruit. Was never mentioned by the media and never missed any playing time because of it. Just a warrior. A hockey players hockey player.

Worked food services during 06/07 season. Talking to someone who’d just dropped food for Oilers before departing after game to Colorado. He said Jason Smith was one of the nicest guys. Only one to jump up and help the catering staff organize their food.